Christmas, Boxing Day online sales could hit £1.3bn

Sales should total £636m on Christmas day and £748m on Boxing Day, according to predictions from Experian-IMRG.

Total online sales over Christmas and Boxing day are predicted to amount to £1.3 billion, according to new estimates from the online retail association IMRG and information services group Experian. Sales on Christmas day are predicted at £636 million and Boxing day takings are expected to reach £748 million.

Boxing day has typically been the busiest online shopping day of the year, however, it now faces a new challenger to the title as internet shoppers are thought to have spent £810 million on Black Friday, in a discount-fuelled spending spree.

Boxing day sales are unlikely to surpass Black Friday’s

“Although we expect Boxing Day to be even bigger than last year, with online spend up around 40 per cent year-on-year, it is unlikely to eclipse the unprecedented level of sales on Black Friday when e-retail sales reached a staggering £810 million,” said Tina Spooner, chief information officer at IMRG.

“We are likely to see a higher number [of retailers] launching sales over Christmas and Boxing Day, with some going into sale as soon as their High Street shops close their doors on Christmas Eve,” she added.

Shoppers are becoming increasingly comfortable to leave online shopping until later in the festive season, preferring to browse retailer’s websites from the comfort of their couches, in the midst of Christmas celebrations. This also raises the potential of shopping on Christmas day itself.

Consumers enjoy spending time online shopping

Giles Longhurst, the general manager consumer insight at Experian Marketing Services, expects a 25 per cent growth on the number of site visits for Christmas day, when compared with last year.

This should see “142 million shoppers [slipping] away from families to do some additional bargain hunting on the big day, with a corresponding spend of £636 million”, he said.

“Online shopping is now a leisure activity for customers, with many enjoying browsing and hunting for deals when they have a few minutes. This is where the importance of accurate cross-channel communications can really come in to play, letting customers know about promotions and offers and really cutting through the noise to drive interest and traffic,” Mr Longhurst added.